By Mike Kays
Phoenix Sports Editor
May 12, 2008 11:30 pm
—
Connors State baseball coach Perry Keith was back at work Monday, just one day after being taken to the limit by Arkansas-Fort Smith before snatching the NJCAA Region II championship at Bartlesville.
The Cowboys (44-17) will play Delgado Community College out of New Orleans in the first round of the South Central District tournament in a noon contest at Biff Thompson Field on Friday. Delgado will then play Crowder (Mo.) at 3:30 p.m., then give way to Crowder-Connors at 7 p.m.
Play continues on Saturday at 2 p.m. If all three teams are tied with one loss each after Friday, a coin flip will determine who gets a bye to a 1 p.m. game Sunday, when the finals will be played regardless of Friday’s outcomes.
One team Keith is familiar with. The Cowboys split a pair of games with Crowder, with Connors winning on the road and losing at home. The Louisiana school is a different matter.
“I’m trying to dig up some information. I should be in better shape with that on Tuesday,” Keith said. “I know they beat Fort Smith in last year’s regional and I think they went on to win two and lose two at Grand Junction (Colo., in the NJCAA World Series).”
Not quite, said Joe Scheurmann.
“We won our district but went two-and-out at Grand Junction,” he said. “Our second game, we blew a six-run lead.”
Half of Schuermann’s starters return from that team. Shortstop Mike Liberto is a Missouri signee who is a former Most Valuable Player in the American Legion World Series.
“Our strength is our defense,” Schuermann said. “We don’t shoot ourselves in the foot too often.”
Appropriately enough, most of Keith’s focus is on his own team. That kind of self-focus amongst his players, Keith said, is what has generated the success Connors had last week through Sunday at timeless Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium. The Cowboys won in blowout fashion and they also won close games where they trailed.
“They’ve just kept grinding like that all year,” Keith said. “They’ve tried not to press too hard and stayed on an even-keel, no matter what. They’ve put their trust in themselves and never go out and try to do too much at one time. They don’t panic. That probably distinguishes this club from others I’ve coached.”
After Justin Worby’s solo home run in the second, Michael Zurmehly capped a four-run third inning with a two-run single, giving the Cowboys a 5-0 lead en route to a 6-1 victory in the decisive game of a what became a doubleheader championship series. In the first game Sunday, Connors tied the game on three separate occasions before losing 5-4 in 10 innings.
Connors beat Arkansas-Fort Smith 14-4 in the first game of the tournament and also won a pair of come-from-behind victories against Eastern.
Against Crowder, Connors lost 12-1 at home on May 1. Back on March 11, the Cowboys won 12-11 in Missouri.
“As far as Crowder, they’re pretty athletic,” Keith said. “They have some speed, that’s the main thing I remember.”
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